News‎ > ‎

Bird Flu danger: Tamil Nadu bans poultry products from Kerala

posted Nov 18, 2014, 2:23 AM by Law Kerala   [ updated Nov 27, 2014, 12:49 AM ]

Google+ Facebook Twitter Email PrintFriendly Addthis

To prevent the bird flu virus from spreading to Tamil Nadu, the state government on Wednesday banned the movement of poultry and poultry products from Kerala into the state.

After bird flu broke out in certain parts of Kerala, the Tamil Nadu government said on Wednesday that there was no impact of the disease in the State. 

As a measure of precaution, it decided to halt the entry of poultry and poultry-related feed from the neighbouring State.

The decision was taken at a meeting Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam had with senior Ministers and officials at the Secretariat here on Wednesday.

An official says that though poultry products usually went to Kerala from Tamil Nadu, the decision was taken to restrict the entry of any product from Kerala as a precautionary measure.

“We are establishing checkpoints where any such product will be tested and disinfectants will also be applied to it before being sent back,” he says.

The Commissioners of Commercial Taxes and Transport, along with the Director of Animal Husbandry, will work together to make sure that vehicles carrying poultry products from Kerala are returned at the checkpoints.

Eight hundred response teams will be formed to monitor the overall situation. A control room will work round the clock at the Central Research Laboratory, Saidapet. (044-24339097, 9445032504).

The movement of migratory birds in bird sanctuaries will be observed by the Chief Wildlife Garden. Southern Railway will be requested to stop the movement of poultry and poultry-related feed by train and sanitise the bogies of the trains coming to Tamil Nadu from Kerala, says an official release.

The state has also ordered ducks and chicken brought from Kerala in the past few days to be culled and vehicles that have crossed over from Kerala to be disinfected. 


“All measures will be taken to stop the spread of the disease into Tamil Nadu,” said an official statement.

Tamil Nadu is the hub of India’s poultry trade and home to all major producers and exporters.

The state’s poultry sector, however, doesn’t foresee bird flu having a major impact on its business. P Nallathambi, president, Tamil Nadu Poultry Farmers Association, said, 

“We don’t see any impact of the bird flu issues in Kerala…We are dealing with chicken, which is well protected against any such virus infection through bio-security measures.”

Across the country, too, traders aren’t worried. “As of now, the bird flu in Kerala has just impacted ducks and that, too, in a part of the state. Therefore, I don’t see any large-scale impact on poultry exports from India as of now,” said Rickey Thapar, convenor of the Poultry Federation of India.

In 2013-14, India exported 437,673 tonnes of poultry and poultry products, worth Rs 566 crore. During April-August this year, exports stood at 190,326 tonnes; these were worth Rs 242 crore.

Meanwhile, the central government has set up a control room in Krishi Bhawan in the national government to monitor the situation. It has assured the Kerala government of assistance and asked the department ofhealth and family welfare to provide medical aid if needed. 

“The department of animal husbandry, dairying and fisheries has requested the ministry of health to facilitate control and containment operations,” said an official statement.